The short answer

No. As of October 21, 2026, there is no nationwide US ban on DeepSeek. The order the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published in the Federal Register on October 20, 2026 covers federal civilian executive branch agencies only. The order does not state any prohibition on private companies, developers or the general public. Our news brief on the DHS DeepSeek removal order covers the announcement itself; this page explains the scope and tracks related restrictions.

What the DHS order covers

Federal Register document 2026-21447 (Docket No. DHS-2026-0628) is a notice of an order issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018. According to the notice, the order does two things:

  1. Procurement: it excludes "information technology products and services developed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd (DeepSeek), to include affiliated entities," from federal civilian agency procurements.
  2. Removal: it requires "removal of all DeepSeek and DeepSeek-affiliate products, and third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek implementations, from civilian agency information technology."

The signed order in the appendix, Exclusion and Removal Order #2026-01, adds detail:

  • Who it applies to: "Federal Civilian Executive Branch Agencies except for their national security systems and secure compartmented information systems." The order notes that the Secretary of Homeland Security's authority does not extend to systems under the Department of War and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
  • Third-party products: footnotes say the order includes "third party implementations of DeepSeek used to provide products and services to civilian agencies."
  • Where procurement is blocked: the exclusion takes effect "immediately after issuance of this Order" and reaches agency-approved product lists, service provider equipment lists, e-commerce markets and similar purchasing functions.
  • Removal timing: agencies must remove covered products "immediately after the issuance of the Order, or seek an Exception."
  • Exceptions: agencies may ask that the order not apply to them, to certain actions, or for a delay in compliance. Requests must be in writing "within 60 days of the issuance of this order," with a compelling justification and any alternative mitigations. CISA reviews the requests.
  • Interim steps: until removal is complete, agencies are encouraged to monitor traffic, add logging and controls on data exfiltration, and flag anomalous activity.
  • Review: the order is to be reviewed within one year and annually after that.

Dates to know

The appendix gives an Original Release Date of July 24, 2026, and the notice was published on October 20, 2026. The order says exception requests are due within 60 days of issuance but does not say which of these dates that refers to. The Federal Register filing came on October 19, 2026 at 8:45 a.m. US Eastern Time (20:45 on October 19, Beijing time).

Why DHS says it acted

The order's summary of risks says DeepSeek's "models present multiple threat vectors," that its servers are in the People's Republic of China, and that use of its applications "may result in the transfer of sensitive data to the PRC if used by U.S. government employees or vendors." It also cites research that found vulnerabilities in the DeepSeek iOS app.

What it does not say

The order does not mention app stores, consumer use, private businesses, or self-hosted open-weight models outside federal civilian systems. For model details and official access points, see our DeepSeek model page.

Other restrictions with official sources

Only restrictions confirmed on an official government page are listed here. Each one is narrower than a general ban.

  • Texas, January 31, 2025: a proclamation by Governor Greg Abbott added DeepSeek to the state's prohibited technologies list, covering state-issued devices and personal devices used for state work (Office of the Texas Governor).
  • New York, February 10, 2025: Governor Kathy Hochul announced a ban on downloading the DeepSeek app on government devices and networks managed by the state's Office of Information Technology Services (Office of the New York Governor).
  • Australia, February 4, 2025: PSPF Direction 001-2025 from the Department of Home Affairs requires Australian Government entities to prevent the use or installation of DeepSeek products, applications and web services and to remove existing instances from government systems and devices (Protective Security Policy Framework).
  • Italy, January 30, 2025: the Italian data protection authority ordered, as an urgent measure with immediate effect, a limitation on the processing of Italian users' data by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali).

China's response

At the regular press conference on October 20, 2026, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China "consistently opposes overstretching the concept of national security and politicizing science, technology, economic and trade issues" and will "resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies" (translation of the official Chinese transcript).

This page will be updated when new official restrictions are issued.